Flying Blind
by starrynightshade
Summary: Antoine Triplett had been through some seriously weird stuff since he had joined SHIELD. He'd encountered aliens, gifted individuals, and more recently, a psychopath from the 1940's. However, all of that seemed to pale in comparison to his latest assignment: parenthood.
1. The Happy Couple

_A/N: Spoilers for S2 E10! Alright, so since the writers of the how are intent on putting me in emotional turmoil, this story will be taking place in a canon divergent AU in which Trip pulls Raina out of the temple, but Skye is stuck inside with the Diviner. So Trip is alive and Raina isn't a weird cactus cat, okay? Cool._

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><p>Antoine Triplett had been through some seriously weird stuff since he had joined SHIELD. He'd encountered aliens, gifted individuals, and more recently, a psychopath from the 1940's. However, all of that seemed to pale in comparison to his latest assignment: parenthood.<p>

He'd arrived a bit early for the meeting that Coulson had requested, partly because he was a punctual person by nature, and partly because he was just plain curious.

"You can come in." Coulson called from his desk.

Trip hadn't even knocked yet, but he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "You asked for me sir?"

"Yes, have a seat." He indicated the chair across from him at the desk. Trip settled into it as Coulson placed a slim folder on the desk between them. "Melody Clark," he said, pulling a paper from the top of the file and handing it to Trip "was found three miles from her home in Fairfax last night. Apparently, she fled fled the house with her five month old sister Addison after 'bad men' broke in and murdered their parents."

Triplett looked at the picture in the file. It showed a little girl in a yellow raincoat and boots smiling up at the camera. Raindrops glistened on her warm brown skin and in the dark curls that spiraled past her shoulders. The next picture was of a little baby, staring up at the camera with big brown eyes. He immediately felt his heart constrict at the thought of everything they had been through. "Are they alright?"

"Miraculously, they managed to escape unharmed. They're in the care of Child Protective Services for now, and I have an acquaintance there who's looking after them."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, but why are you telling me this? Actually, why are we even taking this case? Shouldn't this fall under the FBI's jurisdiction?"

"I'm getting there." He said patiently.

"Right. Sorry, Sir."

Coulson waved off his apology. "Saying this is a unique case would be an understatement. Samuel and Vanessa Clark died under very suspicious circumstances, and we need to investigate those circumstances. The problem is, whoever killed them was either after their children to begin with, or will want to tie up their loose ends. That's where you come in. These girls are orphans now, even if they did have any family to go to they wouldn't be safe. As soon as this threat is eliminated they'll be released into the foster care system, but until then you're going to look after them." He pulled another file from his desk and handed it over. "All the files and documents you'll need for your cover are in here, and a friend of mine has made arrangements for the four of you just outside of Boston."

"I'm sorry. You said the _four_ of us?"

"Raina will be joining you." Coulson said as if it were the most obvious thing on Earth.

"_Raina?_" He gawked. "As in flower dresses and fifty shades of crazy, Raina?"

"Don't you think that's bit extreme, Antoine?" For the life of him Trip couldn't figure out how she managed to sneak up on them in those heels, yet there she stood raising an expectant eyebrow at him in her signature floral attire. Today's dress was a deep plum color with gold flowers patterning the garment, and Trip certainly didn't notice the way the silky fabric perfectly hugged her frame. That would have been out of line.

"Raina. Come have a seat." Coulson said, leaving the agent in front of him to wonder when he and Raina had gotten so chummy. Once she had perched herself primly on the seat next to him, Coulson began again. "Skye briefed you I believe?"

"She did." Raina confirmed. "Although, I think she was just as baffled as Antoine about my role in this mission. I'm assuming you haven't told him yet?"

"I was getting to it." Coulson said tersely.

"Getting to what, sir? There has to be someone else who can come with me on this."

"I'm hurt. You don't want me to come with you on your undercover adventure?" Raina asked, pouting her lip the slightest bit.

It took more effort than it should have to tear his gaze away from her lips, but he managed it, turning back to Coulson.

"I told you that Melody and Addison's parents died under suspicious circumstances." he said. "Well, Raina has more up-close experience with suspicious circumstances than just about anyone else. We need your skills, but we need her experience."

"Are you sure that's safe? You just said that an unknown murderer may be after these two kids, and I would feel much better having someone who's at least a field agent with me."

"Well, I'm sorry to be causing you discomfort, Antoine." Trip really doubted that. "But, I am best equipped to help you deal with anything…odd that may come up."

Coulson sighed, rubbing his hands over his eyes in frustration. "Look, I know you two aren't exactly best friends, and I not asking you to be, but you do need get along well enough to sell your cover and not get killed. May's flying you to Virginia in forty-five minutes. Once you've picked the girls up from CPS, you'll drive to Boston. You have the duration of the plane ride to figure out a way to make this work and smooth out any kinks in your covers. This op could run anywhere from two weeks to two years, so I suggest you two get comfortable with each other really fast, for your own sakes. Got it?"

Raina looked surprised at Coulson's slight outburst, but nodded anyway while Trip gave his superior the usual "Yes, sir."

"Good. Everything you need to know is in here." He said tapping the files on the desk. "And good luck, both of you."

And with that, they left. Trip wasn't sure where Raina was headed, but he had packing to do. His duffle bag was nearly full when Skye and Bobbi showed up at his door.

"We come bearing gifts." Skye said, holding up the box in her hands.

The two of them emptied the parcel item by item, handing things over for him to pack.

"Extra ICEr with more compact cartridges." Bobbi said, handing him the weapon.

Skye passed him a Glock 19. "This one's the real deal, so don't go getting them confused." Trip nodded and the gun joined the ICEr. "And a SAT phone that you can use to call me, Simmons, or AC. Emergencies only, obviously."

"Driver's licenses and credit cards under your cover's names." Bobbi handed him a small envelope containing false documents and credit cards under the names of Antoine and Raina James. Trip had had a lot of different covers over the years, but 'married with kids' had never been one of them. And what was worse, he had no experience to draw on in either of those areas. For the first time as an operative he was flying blind.

"I hope that's it." He joked, trying to get rid of the just-punched sensation in his gut. "This bag is looking awfully full."

"Just one more thing." Skye said as she rifled around in the bottom of the box. With a little noise of triumph, she pulled a small, velvet bag out. "Because no marriage is complete without a blatant display of blind consumerism. And by that I mean a really huge rock. Like seriously, I don't know where Coulson's getting these gigantic diamonds, but I'm starting to get suspicious."

Trip couldn't help rolling his eyes as he took the bag from the younger agent and tucked it in his jacket pocket. "They're probably fake, just like the marriage."

Skye's only response was to give him a long, tight hug. "Be careful out there okay?"

"Come on, girl. You cant get rid of me that easily. I'll be back sooner or later."

"I'd prefer sooner if you can swing it." Bobbi said, taking her turn to envelope him in a hug.

"Yes Ma'am." He agreed. "Tell the others I'll see them soon, yeah?"

They promised to do so and before he knew it he was sitting next to Raina on the Quinjet while May piloted the plane towards Virginia. The flight wasn't long, but it was all the time they had to smooth out their covers.

"You've finished reading the files, right?" He asked as they approached their destination.

"Front to back." She confirmed. "Any kinks?"

Trip nearly choked on air before realizing that she was repeating what Coulson had said in his office. "No, but I'll tell you if anything comes up. You?"

"A few. But, none pertaining to our cover." She said nonchalantly. He took a deep breath as he rose to check in with May in the cockpit. This was going to be a long mission.


	2. The Proud Parents

It took Raina less than thirty minutes to decide that she didn't really like her engagement ring. The band was all platinum with two rows of diamonds glittering around a big square-cut stone. It looked gigantic on her delicate hand, but it certainly made a statement.

"Coulson really went all out, huh?" Trip said, noticing the way she kept glancing down at her left hand.

She gave a slight nod. "Agent May's a lucky woman."

"May?" Trip sputtered. "Coulson and May aren't… at least I don't think…"

"If you say so." She said, shrugging her shoulders. It was silent for a few moments before she spoke up again. "I don't like it."

He glanced at her for a moment before looking back at the road. "Don't like what?"

"The ring. It's too big for me, too flashy." Raina explained.

"Really? You seem like the type of person who enjoys flashy."

"It has its moments, but I've always preferred simple elegance."

"Like flower dresses?" He grinned.

He was too focused on the road to notice the way her face fell just a bit at his question. "Who doesn't like flowers?"

They'd been driving for about half an hour in an SUV that had been waiting for them at the airfield. Trip had stowed their meager luggage in the trunk before climbing into the driver's seat and typing the address Coulson had sent them into the GPS. Despite being late November, the air was pleasantly warm and slightly humid, but that was likely to change as they made their way to Boston. First, however, they needed to fill the empty carseats in the back row of the vehicle. She had to admit that the idea was daunting, and she really hoped that Coulson's friend had some advice for them before they became the temporary guardians of these little girls.

The woman who greeted them at the CPS facility had short, silvery hair and rectangular glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. "I'm Dr. Ann Fielding, I work in the psychology department here. You must be from Coulson's team." She said, shaking their hands in turn as they confirmed that Coulson had sent them. "Good, I'll try to make this brief. They both seem to be exceptionally resilient, but I'd like them in a normal home environment as soon as possible."

"We understand." Raina said.

"How are they?" Trip asked as he and Raina began following her down the hallway.

"They're both doing surprisingly well. Addison is just developing a concept of object permanence, so she most likely doesn't understand that something has happened, but Melody does. She's been surprisingly calm about the whole ordeal. You have to keep in mind though, that children have a very different grieving process from adults." They nodded their understanding, and Dr. Fielding continued. "I've put together some reference material for you on helping children through periods of grief, and I'll give you the number to my office in case you need any further assistance."

Raina thanked her as they turned a corner into a new wing of the building and Dr. Fielding stopped walking.

"Now, before you go and get them, I want to warn you that as far as Melody's concerned, the four of you are about to enter into an elaborate game of 'house' in which you two are the parents. Get used to responding to 'Mommy and Daddy'."

As if Mr. and Mrs. hadn't been weird enough, now they were Mom and Dad too. Trip couldn't help but think that his day was just getting weirder and weirder with the passing time. Dr. Fielding led them a little further down the hall, where she ushered them through the door of a classroom-like space. The specialist recognized Melody's dark curls right away, and Dr. Fielding was quick to usher them over to her. The chairs at the table were tiny, and he probably looked ridiculous, but Trip sat down next to her anyway. He glanced over to Raina, who somehow still managed to look refined in the child sized seat, before trying to talk to Melody. "Hey, I like your picture."

"Thanks." She said in a surprisingly serene voice. "It's a gingerbread house with a cookie family that lives in it."

"I see that. I'm Trip, and this is my friend Raina. You're name's Melody right?"

Melody still hadn't looked up from her picture, but she nodded her head in the affirmative as she picked up a pink crayon. "Miss Ann said I was going to live with you guys."

Trip was about to respond, but Raina beat him to the punch. "Just for a while. Would you like that?"

She finally looked up, apparently finished with her gingerbread family, and looked between them with curious brown eyes. "Can I bring Addie?"

Again Trip was cut off, this time by the return of Dr. Fielding. "Of course Addie can come with you. I just need someone to hold her so I can get some paperwork together." Immediately Raina's arms were outstretched, and the psychologist was transferring the baby in her arms to the other woman.

"Hello." Raina cooed, rocking the infant a bit and earning a small gurgle in return. Trip didn't really know what he'd been expecting to happen, but it certainly hadn't been for Raina's maternal side to make an instantaneous appearance.

"If you'll join me in my office." Dr. Fielding prompted. The paperwork took only a few minutes and within the hour he was shaking Dr. Fielding's hand and heading back to the room that Melody and Addison were waiting in.

Raina was still sitting in the tiny chair when he returned, rocking Addison as if it were second-nature and animatedly talking to Addison about the picture she was working on. "I just need your signature on a few things before you leave." Ann said to her. It took a bit of doing, but after a few moments Raina was scrawling a fake name onto the small collection of documents and trip was standing in the middle of the room holding a baby.

He'd thought he would be more nervous, but once she was settled and staring up at him with the same coffee brown eyes as her sister he felt a sense of focus wash over him. It was the same kind of clarity that he felt when he was on an op, reaching for his gun, analyzing the best way to avoid casualties if things should go poorly. And then he remembered that this was an op, and despite the perfect innocence of the girl in his arms and the one sitting just a foot away, they were in danger.

"We're ready." Raina said, holding her arms out for Trip to place Addison in.

As Dr. Fielding led them back out of the building, he reached out for Melody's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. He wasn't totally sure which one of them he was trying to reassure, but the pressure of her little fingers on the back of his hand was incredibly grounding.

Once both girls were secured in their carseats Trip and Raina turned to face Dr. Fielding, who pulled out a yellow folder and a business card. "Here's the reference material that I was telling you about, and my card in case you need anything."

"Thank you." Raina smiled, taking them both and tucking them into her bag.

"I know this is going to be an adjustment for both of you, but if it makes you feel any better, I don't think Coulson could have sent two more qualified agents. You two are naturals, and I know you'll do what's best for Melody and Addison."

With that final reassurance, they said their goodbyes and climbed back into the car.

"Ready to go?" Trip asked, glancing into the backseat.

"Where are we going?" Melody asked, swinging her feet over the floor of the vehicle.

Raina turned over her shoulder to look at the five year-old. "Massachusetts." She smiled. "How do you like the sound of Boston?"

_A/N: If you have a moment to leave a review I would really appreciate it. Also, please check out the updated author's not in chapter 1 so you can better understand the story. _


	3. Home Sweet Home

With stops for food and bathroom breaks, the eight hour drive from Virginia to Boston ended up taking nearly ten hours. Addison proved to be a surprisingly quiet baby, only fussing when she was in need of a bottle or diaper change, and Melody was quite content to look out the window and watch the world go by so long as Trip kept the radio on a classical music station.

He could still hear the faintest strains of Bach's cello suite no.1 as he pulled onto a quiet suburban street at three in the morning.

"That must be it." Raina whispered pointing to a house on the left with pale blue siding and grey stone around the door. She was just barely clinging to consciousness in the passenger's seat but had insisted on staying up with him, which would have been sweet if he hadn't known that it was out of distrust rather than in the interest of keeping him company.

He parked in the driveway, but left the keys in the ignition. "Wait here." He said to Raina. "I'm going to clear the house, then I'll be right back." She nodded sleepily, stretching in her seat.

As he entered the garage through the side door he pulled out his flashlight and gun, sweeping them over the space. Aside from a folded up stroller, a sled, and a porch swing that appeared to be in storage for the winter the garage was empty. The first room he entered seemed to be a mud room with a washer and dryer on the right and a small powder room on the left. Both rooms were clear, so he moved forward into the kitchen taking note of the foyer on the left and the sliding door in the back of the combined living and dining room. The stairs opened up to a spacious landing that seemed to be serving as a reading area, complete with a fully-stocked bookshelf and two comfortable armchairs. He checked for an entry point to the attic over the garage, but found nothing and decided to make his way down the hall instead.

The first door on the left yielded a bathroom, but nothing concerning. The two doors on the right side of the hall opened up to a nursery followed by a butterfly-themed bedroom. And the last room—the one he tried not to pay too much attention to — was their room. A handsomely furnished master bedroom with a walk-in closet and a sleek en-suite bathroom. Disorienting as it was, the room was clear of threats, so Trip put away his gun and flashlight as he returned to the car.

"It's clear." He whispered to Raina. She nodded drowsily and got out of the car, opening the door behind hers to remove Addison's carseat. Trip did the same on his side, unbuckling Melody's seatbelt before thinking about the chilly weather and wrapping his leather jacket around her shoulders.

"Should we wake her up?" Raina wondered.

He considered it for a moment, weighed the pros and cons, and decided that it would be best to wake her for a few minutes instead of letting her wake up in a strange and unfamiliar place in the morning. "Hey, we're here." He murmured, rubbing her shoulder to wake her up.

"M'kay." She mumbled. "Carry me?"

"Sure thing, Angel." He was glad that he had had her change into her pajamas during their last stop, as it would save him the effort of trying to get her into them now. "This way." He said to Raina, leading her through the kitchen and the foyer and up the staircase. "Addie's room is on the right."

With the threat of danger gone, he could see that Melody's room was ideally suited for a little girl her age. The walls and bedsheets were both a soothing shade of blue, and the large window on the far wall looked out into the backyard. The table in the corner looked like the perfect place to color or host a tea party for the various dolls and stuffed animals that lined the shelves on the wall. It had all the essentials, and a bit more.

With the covers tucked in around her, Trip knelt next to the bed so his face was even with Melody's. "I'm going to go to sleep too, but my room is just across the hall if you need something, okay?" She nodded sleepily and Trip took it to mean that she had understood him, so he quietly crept out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"I'm going to get our bags." He said to Raina, who was watching Addie sleep in her crib. She nodded, and when he returned from the car with their duffels in hand she was sitting on the bed in a tank top and a pair of pink sleep shorts.

"Good news." She said, taking her bag from him and unzipping it. "The closet's fully stocked." She pulled a toiletries bag from her duffel and stalked off to the bathroom with it in hand.

Sure enough, the left side of the walk-in closet had a drawer full of pajama bottoms and soft t-shirts. He quickly shed his clothes and slipped into a pair of blue flannel bottoms, forgoing the t-shirt for a moment while he searched the room for a laundry hamper.

"It's in the bathroom." Raina said, having somehow appeared in the doorway without a sound. He was glad he was at least wearing pants, because the way her gaze raked over his retreating form didn't go unnoticed. He slipped the shirt on as he walked into the bathroom, tossing his other clothes into the hamper on the way. He considered a shower briefly, but ended up just brushing his teeth and splashing a bit of water onto his face.

By the time he came out, Raina was already curled up on the right side of the bed, which was fine because he preferred the side by the door anyway. She looked like she was sleeping, but when he got under the covers with her and turned off the lamp, he could sense the tension in her shoulders and hear the too-quick rate of her breathing.

_Well, hopefully she's still here in the morning._ He thought, before turning onto his side and trying to get some rest.

_A/N: I know this one's a bit sort, but I thought this would be a good spot to cut it off. In other news, my exams are finished so I will have more time to write for the rest of the month! As usual, please tell me what you think and if there's something you're dying to see these characters do, leave it as a comment and I'll try to make it happen._


	4. Good Morning Sunshine

Raina woke in an empty bed. She must have rolled over sometime during the night because her back was to the window that she had been staring at when she dozed off, but the other side of the bed was empty. She could still feel the leftover warmth ratting off the mattress, and smell the inviting woodsy scent that proved Antoine had been there, that she hadn't been dreaming. She heard a small whining noise from across the hall that pushed all the pieces into place. Addison was crying.

The clock told her that it was just after five in the morning, but she stretched for a moment before tossing back the covers and climbing out of bed. The wood floors were chilly against her bare feet, which helped to clear her groggy mind, but wasn't exactly pleasant as she padded across the hall. He was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner with Addie's dark curls cradled in the crook of his elbow. She was happily sucking down a bottle with her eyes half open and a handful of his shirt scrunched up in her little hand.

"You should have woken me." Raina said.

"I thought you could use some sleep." He replied. He looked far more awake than someone who had just driven for 10 hours and only slept for 2 should really look. "Besides you had her for most of the drive here. I figured it was only fair that I took a turn. Trust me, I've done much more dangerous things on no sleep at all. You should go back to bed." He added, seeing the dubious look that must have been etched all over her features.

She nodded sleepily and left the room, but instead of going back to bed, she headed down the hall to check in on Melody.

She was sleeping soundly with the pale blue covers pulled up to her chin. Her eyelids fluttered the slightest bit and Raina hoped that it was because she was having sweet dreams, and not because her mind was dredging up the horrors she had witnessed just days before. With one last glance around the room she snuck back to the hallway and closed the door behind her, nearly running directly into Antoine on her way back to bed.

"Is she still asleep?" He asked, yielding so she could walk through the bedroom door.

"Out like a light." She confirmed. The bed wasn't as warm as when she'd left it, but she realized that that problem would be short-lived when he slid under the covers next to her. "You're like a human space heater." She commented.

"Well, if you start to feel chilly feel free to snuggle up to me again. I won't judge."

She had to physically fight back the little noise of indignation that threatened to fly from her mouth. "I wasn't 'snuggling.'" She insisted and turned so she was laying with her back to him.

Still, she could practically hear him smirking as he flipped of the lamp. "Whatever you say, Wifey."

He was up again just after seven thirty, leaving the bed unpleasantly cool in his wake. Raina's sleep-addled brain went over all the possible reasons he could be up after so few hours. Addison was't crying, so that wasn't it. Melody hadn't made a peep all night and there were no signs of intruders, so when she stretched out and mumbled a barely comprehensible "What's happening?" he surprised her by saying that he was going for a run.

"It's the best way to case out the neighborhood." He explained. "I can get a feel for people's schedules, who's friendly and who's not, the way things operate. I won't go too far, but I'm leaving you the ICEr just in case. Try not to need it." He said, lacing up his tennis shoes and stowing his Glock in a discreet holster. "I won't be long." He promised. "You should try to get some more sleep."

She nodded sleepily, settling back under the covers as he walked out of the room. She didn't even realize she was dozing off again until a soft tug at the covers woke her up. When she pried her eyes open she was met by big brown eyes and a tangle of curls that told her that Melody was up. "Hey. Did you sleep okay?" She asked as she climbed out from her warm cocoon. Melody nodded, taking Raina's outstretched hand. "Let's go see about some breakfast."

Together they checked on on Addison before going down the stairs to the kitchen. "Let's see what we've got." Raina started looking through the cupboards, there were a few basic essentials among the dishes and silverware, but they were definitely going to need to make a shopping trip soon. "How about eggs and toast?"

It took less than a mile for Trip to decide that Raina was trying to kill him. She hadn't exactly become anyone's bestie since she'd come to SHIELD, but she had been especially cold with him. It was no secret that she thought he had ruined her destiny, or whatever she called it, by pulling her from that room. In all fairness, he thought she was trying to kill Skye. How was he supposed to know that the walls would close up behind them?

Semantics aside, she had clearly chosen an extremely potent form of revenge, and her greatest weapon so far was that damn stretch. He'd mentally reprimanded himself after the whole lip incident in Coulson's office, but after watching her wake up that morning he was inches from slapping his own face. _You're on a mission,_ he reminded himself, _and you don't need to be distracted by a girl who was threatening Simmons just months ago._ But how could he not be when she slid her arms up aver her head, back arching up off the bed provocatively, and let out a little noise between a whine and a whimper that made him want to explore all the little sounds she made when her mind was otherwise engaged?

Shaking his head he tried to refocus on the task at hand, waving at a middle-aged man who was picking up the morning paper while using his fake earbuds to listen in on the conversation his wife was having with their teenage daughter in the kitchen. He added the family to his mental catalogue, along with the park he had noticed, the apparently vacant house on the corner, and the family on the next street with the poorly behaved pug. By the time he stopped to stretch in the driveway his mind was swimming with little details like that.

"I'm back!" He called, slipping off his shoes in the mudroom.

"Daddy!" Melody cried struggling to get down from her seat at the counter. _Daddy? Oh, right_. The realization that she meant him made his brain buzz with conflicting ideas and feelings, but he filed them away with his morning run. Just more data to review later.

"Whoa there!" Trip said, scooping her up before she could slip. "Good morning Sunshine! You look like you slept well."

She nodded before turning her attention back to her breakfast on the island. "Mommy made toast and eggs. Do you want some?"

"That sounds great, but first I'm going to go take a shower and check on your sister, okay?" She voiced her consent and he set her back in her chair to finish eating. "You're okay for ten more minutes, right?" He asked Raina who was standing at the stove, making eggs and listening to the baby monitor on the counter.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Oh, but we'll need to go to the store this afternoon." She lowered her voice, peering up at him through her eyelashes. "Unless you were planning on eating… something else tonight.

Trip just confirmed that yes, they would go to the store before bolting up the stairs. His resolve strengthened as he stepped into the shower. The reasonable part of his brain warned him that one of them was going to end up burned by this game, but he was done letting Raina have all the satisfaction. He was going to play too.

_A/N: Well, I hope you liked it! Requests for spooning, dancing, and a tea party are all on the docket, but if you can think of anything you'd like to see me force these two into leave a comment!_


	5. Welcome to the Neighborhood

Raina was helping Melody with her hair when the doorbell rang. She could make out the sounds of the door opening and a woman's voice coming from the entryway before Antoine called up the stairs to her. "We have a visitor."

"Down in a minute!" She called back, taking Melody's hand and leading her downstairs. In the foyer stool a fair woman in dark jeans and a low-cut red top. Raina could tell from a quick glance that everything about the woman was fake, from her bleached hair to her slightly orange complexion to the french-tipped claws attached to each of her fingers.

"You must be Antoine's wife." The woman said flashing an artificially whitened smile. It sent a jolt through Raina to hear someone else call him that. On the base he had been Trip or Agent Triplett to everyone but her, but now he was Antoine James and Trip would be a difficult nickname to explain.

"Raina." She said, shaking the woman's hand. "This is our daughter, Melody." She said, nodding to the little girl who was trying to hide behind her legs.

"I'm Jackie. My husband Todd and I live in the house across the street." She explained. "When I saw a car in the driveway I just knew I had to come and welcome you to the neighborhood." She said, holding out a plate of brownies.

Raina thanked her, inviting her to come sit down in the living room while Antoine scooped Melody up. She hid her face in his neck shyly and Raina caught him whispering something in her ear that made her nod enthusiastically.

"Oh, you have a baby! " Jackie cooed noticing Addison in her swing. "How old is she?"

"Five months." Antoine replied, sitting down on the couch.

Raina tucked herself under his arm. "Where's Melody?"

Jackie followed their lead, settling primly on the other end of the sofa. "I told her she could play with her Legos until we left." He answered, earning a raised eyebrow from Jackie. The colorful little bricks had been the morning's most exciting discovery and Melody couldn't wait to get her hands on them.

"I guess she takes after her daddy." Raina said, giving her 'husband' the soppiest look she could muster. "Antoine's an architect." She explained to Jackie.

"Interesting. And what about you, Raina? Do you stay home with the kids?"

"We both do, actually. Antoine's work can be done from home for the most part, and I write textbooks."

Jackie's 1000 watt smile faltered for a moment. Clearly she had been expecting something else. "Textbooks?"

"On human biology." She elaborated. Antoine had given her a strange look when she had suggested it, but she had reminded him that despite SHIELD's tendency to forget it, she was a scientist, making her cover less of a stretch than his. He couldn't argue with that.

"Interesting." Their neighbor said, despite clearly having no interest in it at all. "So, where are you from?"

Antoine explained that they had arrived from Virginia that morning. Technically, it wasn't a lie but it also dodged her question in such a subtle way that Jackie didn't even realize what had happened. She asked how old Melody was and Raina said that she would be six in February.

"I'm sure it was hard to pull her out of school just as she was getting settled into a routine." Raina doubted that even Addison was fooled by the bottle-blonde's feigned concern.

"She had a few friends in our neighborhood that we were sad to say goodbye to, but we homeschool her so moving didn't cause much of an issue on that front." They had agreed that it was too big of a risk to put Melody back into the school system before they knew it was safe, so they'd studied up on the curriculum she needed to be familiar with and ordered some workbooks off the internet. She had proven to be very clever and imaginative already, and Raina had no doubt that she would be able to adapt to the new method of learning.

"That must be difficult, socially I mean." Jackie certainly had some strong opinions on their choices as parents for a housewife with no children of her own.

Raina assured her that they had been involved in playgroups and other extra-curricular activities that had allowed Melody to make plenty of social connections.

Jackie twittered on and on about the neighborhood, her husband's very important corporate work, and the New Year's party she was planning for the HOA.

"You have to come." Jackie insisted, finally pulling her fur-lined coat from the rack next to the door.

"It sounds great." Raina assured her. "We'll check our schedule."

"Great!" She smiled. "Well, it was nice to meet you. And, again, welcome to the neighborhood."

"Man, I thought she'd never leave." Antoine said as soon as Raina shut the door on Jackie's retreating form.

"Let's get to the store before another shows up." Raina said, already making her way to Melody's room. "Don't these sort of people usually travel in packs?"

For the first time since they'd been assigned this mission, she heard him laugh wholeheartedly "More like herds I think. Vicious, vindictive little herds."

* * *

><p>It took about twenty minutes to get the girls in the car and drive to the nearest supermarket, but soon Trip was slowly making his way through rows of produce asking Melody what she liked and didn't like. Raina had taken Addie to the other side of the store to pick up a few toiletries and agreed to meet him as soon as she was finished.<p>

"What kind of apples should we get, Angel?" He asked swinging her up on his hip so she could view the selection.

"The ones on the end are great." Said a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a curvy woman with a basket on her arm. "Just my personal opinion."

"I like the red ones." Melody said, pointing to the apples the woman had just pointed out.

"She's got good taste." The woman laughed. "I haven't seen you in here before." She said with a flutter of her eyelashes. That explained a lot.

He shifted Melody in his arms so that his wedding ring was visible, and he didn't miss the way her eyes flew to it. "We just moved here." He said, noticing Raina making her way towards him.

"Who's your friend?" She asked. The woman sputtered uncomfortably for a moment before blurting out some sort of excuse and bustling away.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?" He murmured after setting Melody back down. "You looked like you were going to eat her alive."

Raina just shrugged her delicate shoulders. "You'll come to find that I don't enjoy sharing." She replied. "Now, what's next on our shopping list?"

_A/N: Up next: More Neighbors and the group play date from hell. As usual, please leave a review or any suggestions you may have for future chapters._


	6. Welcome to the Neighborhood pt 2

"Mommy, what's your favorite color?" Melody asked, surveying the crayon box in front of her.

Raina set the last of their lunch dishes in the dishwasher. "Purple, why?"

"I'm drawing you in a princess dress. I have a lot of purples though. You'll have to pick one." She said, holding out a bundle of crayons in varying shades of violet.

"Why don't you use all of them?" Raina suggested. "You can make it a tie-dye princess dress." Melody's face lit up at the prospect just as a knock came at the door. "You stay here and work on your picture." The girl nodded, barely paying attention now that she had a very important dress to color.

The woman standing on the porch was a far cry from their first visitor of the day. Her dark hair framed her face in gentle waves, and she looked almost nervous waiting for Raina to open the door. She didn't look like a threat, or even an unpleasant person, so she swung the door open. "Hello."

"Hi! You must be the new neighbor. I'm Eva Castillo, I live next door." She said quickly. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No. Come in." Raina said, stepping out of the way.

They ended up sitting with Melody at the kitchen table. Eva said that she and her family lived in the house to their right. Her husband, Daniel was a teacher at the local high school and Eva worked as a nurse. "Never a dull moment at our place." She laughed. "Not with three boys."

"Oh, how old are your sons?"

"Nine, six, and four." Eva said. "They keep us on our toes, that's for sure. Do you have other children?"

Raina nodded. "A five month old daughter. My husband's upstairs putting her down for a nap."

"Your husband, huh? You mean the tall, dark, and handsome man running down the street this morning?"

Raina gave the other woman a cheeky grin. "That's the one."

"If you're not careful Jackie will try to snatch that one right off your arm." Eva teased.

"She can't." Melody said, all seriousness. "Daddy is too big. Nobody can lift him."

The two women were too caught up in their laughter to notice the man, himself coming into the room. "Who's trying to lift me?" He asked.

"No one." Raina assured him. "Apparently you're too big to be manhandled."

"You're not." He winked, just as a knock came at the door. "Saved by the bell." He muttered, heading towards the foyer.

"It's probably Leanne." Eva said. "The Abels live on your other side."

No sooner had she finished the sentence then a statuesque redhead came to stand in the doorway. "Is that Eva I hear?" She said, a strong southern accent resonating through her words. The two women hugged briefly before Leanne turned to Raina. "You must be the lady of the house. I'm Leanne." She said, shaking Raina's hand. "I brought y'all a little something. It's cookies in a jar, you just add the things on the tag and it makes a nice little batch of cookies." She pulled a mason jar with a neat bow around it from her bag and placed it on the counter. "I see Jackie's been here." She plowed on, noticing the untouched brownies next to the stove.

"First thing in the morning." Eva confirmed. "I was just warning Raina about… well, you know."

"I get the sense she has a reputation." Raina said, glancing between the two women.

Leanne pulled out the last chair at the table and settled into it. "Let's just say there's a reason nobody's lasted more than three years in this house."

Leanne and Eva turned out to be good company, and Raina actually found herself enjoying their conversation. Leanne was rather blunt — something Raina admired about the redhead — and was more than happy to fill her in on the neighborhood gossip. Apparently Jackie was a notorious troublemaker, and as two-faced as a trick coin, but not particularly clever. They chatted a bit longer about their families and Raina learned that Leanne had a daughter around Melody's age and a son who was eight.

"Oh Lordy! Is that the time?" Leanne exclaimed after nearly an hour. "I've got to pick up the kids, but you stop over any time alright?"

"I need to leave too." Eva said, gathering up her things. "Oh, we have group playdates every other Saturday. You should come! We're meeting at Bouncy Kingdom this week at one o'clock."

"Sounds great." She agreed.

Antoine peeked his head around the corner as Raina closed the door. "Do you have any idea what Bouncy Kingdom is?"

* * *

><p>Bouncy Kingdom was, in essence, a giant building full of inflatable slides and bouncy castles. Trip could see the appeal for parents with rambunctious kids who were cooped up in the house thanks to the cold weather, but he was worried Melody would be too nervous to have any fun. He knelt in front of her as she pulled her shoes off.<p>

"Are you excited to meet the other kids today?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

He put his hands on her shoulders, noticing again just how small she was. "I think I saw a spaceship slide in there, and I know how much you love spaceships. Maybe you can be friends with other kids who like the spaceship slide."

She seemed to perk up at that. "Okay, I'll try."

"Good. And who are we gonna be nice to?" He asked.

Melody smiled, remembering the conversation they'd had that morning. "Everyone, even if they aren't nice back."

He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek. "That's my girl! Now, go have fun."

Raina was already in the main play area talking with Leanne and entertaining Addison with some sort of jingly toy.

"Everything alright?" She asked as he walked over to them.

"Yeah, she was just a little nervous. It's all fine though." He said draping an arm over her shoulder.

"Awwww! Nervous for her first playdate. That's just precious." Leanne said, surveying the chaos around them.

Children ran from slide to slide, chasing one another across the giant foam puzzle pieces that made up the floor. Leanne introduced them to several other couples who lived on their street while Trip kept a discreet eye on Melody. She had stuck to the spaceship slide, as he'd predicted, but every now and then she would be tempted away by the ball pit or one of the bouncy castles.

Then, as if in slow motion, one of the younger boys came flying down the slide she had just crawled into. He landed on one foot at first, thence was on the floor. Every adult in the place seemed to freeze, and then he started crying. His mother and one of the employees came rushing over immediately and determined that it wasn't broken before helping him over to one of the benches.

Traffic at that slide seemed to have come to a stop, and his stomach dropped when he realized why; Melody was too scared to come down.

"Mel?" He called, standing at the bottom of the slide. "Can you come down?"

"No, I don't want an owie!" She called back.

"I promise I won't let you get hurt, okay? Slide down and I'll catch you."

"Okay." She called back. He stood at the end of the slide, and seconds later she was sliding straight into his arms.

"See? I told you I'd catch you."

She tucked her head into the crook of his neck like she did when she was feeling shy. "I don't want to play on slides anymore."

"Not even the spaceship?" He asked, hoping to coax her back out of her shell.

"No I just want you to hold me."

"Alright, Angel. I won't let you down."

He hoped it was true.

_A/N:The next chapter will likely have a bit of actual plot (you mean this isn't just an indefinite amount of fluff?) and a bit of development in their relationship. Of course, if you have ideas/suggestions I would love to hear them, and comments for the sake of commenting are always appreciated!_


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